Before Xie Changgeng had passed through the passes, he had made careful preparations, yet with the Kingdom of Changsha striking so unexpectedly from the side — with a force of absolute might that far exceeded his calculations — the defensive line he had laid out in advance was torn through section by section, and the allied forces drove forward relentlessly, pressing all the way toward the capital.

This was the first strategic defeat Xie Changgeng had suffered in his entire life. Before long, adding frost upon snow, another piece of news reached him.

With Prince Qi’s open rebellion, the fragile facade of equilibrium collapsed overnight. There was no more pretense of loyal ministers and virtuous rulers, no more appearance of harmony and accord.

Not only Empress Dowager Liu — any one of his enemies could potentially attempt to seize his mother as a hostage to hold him in check. He had therefore made arrangements early on to have people escort his elderly mother away from Xie County.

What he had not anticipated was that even so, things had gone wrong.

Those escorting her had evaded Empress Dowager Liu’s forces, but they had not escaped the eyes of Prince Qi’s men.

His mother, in the course of being transferred to safety, had been tracked down and abducted by Prince Qi’s people.

Smoke billowed across the land, encampments stretched for ten li along the frontier. A bloody battle had just concluded. Hundreds of thousands of northern cavalry were still facing off against the Hexi army across the river. The next great battle was on the verge of breaking out.

Xie Changgeng had just returned from the battlefield, not yet having had a moment to remove his armor. He stared at the messenger kneeling before him. The veins at his temples pressed against his skin, one by one, taut and vivid. For a long while, he did not move.

Everyone knew — the Military Governor was a devoted and filial son.

His subordinates watched that face, stiff to the point of near-distortion, and not one of them dared to breathe. After a moment, Liu An stepped forward.

“Military Governor, please do not give way to excessive anxiety! Grant this subordinate a detachment of troops, and this subordinate will at once lead them into the passes—”

Before he could finish, Xie Changgeng raised his hand and silenced him.

“They have taken my mother as a means of coercion. Until it comes to the very last resort, they would not dare to harm her. The battle in Hexi is the foremost priority at this moment — do not let your attention be divided. I will handle this myself!”

Xie Changgeng’s eyes were red, and he spoke each word with deliberate force.

Before Mu Xuanqing led his troops north, the news of victories continued to flow back to Yue City without interruption. By the tenth month, the allied forces had already pushed close to the capital, which was in imminent peril — and yet Xie Changgeng’s main forces were still pinned beyond the passes. The Governor of Pucheng, following the last arrangements Xie Changgeng had made before departing, escorted Empress Dowager Liu’s mother and son along with a large group of civil and military officials to Longpass.

The capital fell. Prince Qi entered the city. With the support and acclamation of the assembled princes, he ascended the throne three days later. On the one hand, he proclaimed a general amnesty for all under heaven, declaring that all would share in the joy of this new era; on the other, he used the occasion as cover to plunder wealth on a vast scale and expand his army.

Mu Xuanqing did not take part in this farcical spectacle. He led his army and continued advancing to attack Longpass. The Governor of Pucheng, relying on the advantage of terrain, held firm and refused to engage. Both sides fell into a stalemate.

In the eleventh month, at the beginning of the month, Xie Changgeng inflicted a crushing defeat upon the northern cavalry, drove deep into the royal court, and the northern king abandoned his territory and fled back to his former capital.

This great war, which had lasted nearly half a year, thus drew to a close. The northern forces had been dealt a grievous blow. They sent letters of surrender along with tribute gifts and bowed their heads in submission.

On that day, deep in the night, in the wilderness beyond Longpass, the military encampment lay in total darkness save for the great tent, where the candles still burned bright. Yuan Handing entered hastily and presented a letter he had just received.

“Your Highness, I have just received definitive word — Xie Changgeng has crushed the northern forces, and will surely march his troops back through the passes soon!”

In the fighting to take the city a few days before, Mu Xuanqing had taken an arrow in the chest. Though the military physician had treated the wound, perhaps from days of anxious deliberation and sleepless nights, his complexion at this moment was haggard and drawn.

“What of Prince Qi’s faction?” he asked.

“I was just about to report to Your Highness. Though Prince Qi has proclaimed himself Emperor, he must know that the capital is difficult to hold for long. Our scouts report that a few days ago, his forces began withdrawing, heading toward the eastern capital. Longpass has resisted our assaults for too long — it is not wise to continue wearing ourselves out here. I entreat Your Highness to give the order at once: reorganize the army and return to the Kingdom of Changsha!”

His expression was grave and solemn. Having said his piece, he dropped to his knees before Mu Xuanqing.

Mu Xuanqing gritted his teeth. “The garrison defending Longpass is already greatly depleted! Tomorrow, assemble the soldiers, let them eat a good meal, and I will personally lead the troops in one more assault!”

Yuan Handing looked at Mu Xuanqing and said nothing.

“What is wrong with you? Just follow my command! Even if Xie Changgeng does bring his troops back, it won’t be that quickly!”

Yuan Handing turned his head and called out toward the outside, whereupon a dozen or so deputy commanders in battle armor surged in and dropped to their knees in unison, saying in one voice: “We entreat Your Highness to give the order!”

Mu Xuanqing started. His gaze swept across the men kneeling before him, and finally came to rest on Yuan Handing. His face darkened with anger, and he rose abruptly to his feet.

“Handing, what is the meaning of this? I regard you as a brother, and yet you dare coerce me?”

Yuan Handing said, “Your Highness, please calm your anger. How would I dare to do such a thing of my own accord? Only — before the army set out, the Princess summoned me to the shrine of the late King, and said that should the campaign become prolonged without resolution, or should word arrive that Xie Changgeng was bringing his troops back, I was to make every effort to escort Your Highness home.”

“The Princess asked me to convey this to Your Highness: she understands that this wish of yours has been with you for a very long time, and that personally avenging our aunt is also the duty of the Mu clan. Therefore, when Your Highness resolved to lead troops north, she did not try to dissuade you — for what Your Highness had in mind at that time was not entirely without reason. Such an opportunity, if missed, would perhaps have left Your Highness forever unable to find peace.”

“The Princess said: do what is within human power, and entrust the rest to Heaven’s will. The soldiers have been loyal and steadfast. Your Highness has done everything you could. Should Heaven’s will be otherwise — and you were to press on regardless, with no regard for the safety of Changsha’s soldiers — then our aunt, watching over us from beyond, would surely find no peace either.”

“I most earnestly entreat Your Highness — please hear the Princess’s counsel. Call a halt to the fighting here, and plan for what comes next!”

Yuan Handing bowed his head to the ground, his voice ringing out with conviction. Behind him, the assembled generals followed, pressing their foreheads to the ground, and added their voices together in one plea.

Mu Xuanqing walked with heavy footsteps past Yuan Handing and the others kneeling at his feet.

He lifted the tent flap and looked out.

Beneath the night sky, as far as the eye could reach, lay row upon row of connected encampments. From some distant, unseen corner, the mournful sound of a leaf flute drifted in on the wind. The flute sang with a grief that carried traces of longing for home. Only a few notes sounded before it fell abruptly silent — evidently someone nearby had stopped the player.

Mu Xuanqing stood there motionless for a long while, then slowly turned back.

“Give the order. Return the troops to the Kingdom of Changsha.”

His voice was weighted with immense difficulty. The words had barely left his lips when he coughed up a mouthful of blood, his body swayed, and he collapsed to the ground.

That young brother of hers — he had, in the end, been unable to make peace with his feelings. On the southward journey home, his spirits weighed down and his vital energy depleted, his wound continued to deteriorate without cease. After entering the Kingdom of Changsha, he could no longer travel, and came to a halt in Yunmeng City.

By the time Mu Fulan, Lu Shi, A’Ru, Lu Lin, and the others had rushed to Yunmeng City, her brother had been unconscious for several days, and only one last breath remained in him.

Mu Fulan revived him with golden needles. Mu Xuanqing opened his eyes and gazed for a moment at his wife, who was gripping his hand tightly. The scattered light in his gaze gradually became clear and lucid.

He gave his wife a faint smile, then with great effort raised his other hand and gently stroked A’Ru’s hair, saying softly, “I have failed you both…”

Lu Shi and A’Ru were overcome with grief and tears.

“Little sister, do not blame yourself — this must be fate.” Mu Xuanqing said as well.

“Whatever you might have said at the time, Brother would not have listened. Whatever has befallen me today is entirely my own doing…”

“Father chose to betroth you to that man surnamed Xie because he did not trust me, his own son. I never accepted that. I thought that this time, I could prove to Father that I was capable. Now I understand — Brother truly was never up to it…”

He murmured on, his gaze seeming to pass through the people surrounding him and drift somewhere into the void beyond.

“After Brother is gone, I leave things to you…”

Mu Fulan wept until she could barely hold herself together.

The young King of the Kingdom of Changsha passed away suddenly from illness on the journey south. When the news spread, the people mourned in grief, and the entire kingdom donned white in mourning.

The people and events of the world outside did not pause because things had changed here. New news arrived every day without stopping.

Xie Changgeng’s troops had returned through the passes.

Empress Dowager Liu returned to the capital, and the court restored its order.

Prince Qi withdrew to the eastern capital, seized half the nation’s territory, gathered his forces, and established a separate court.

Xie Changgeng had also been enfeoffed as a prince. From this point, he entirely controlled the court and held great power in his hands — and before long, he would surely, under the name of suppressing the rebellion, launch a military campaign against the forces that stood in the way of his ambitions.

And among the Kingdom of Changsha’s neighbors, the Governor of Fuzhou, who had been defeated before, was now showing signs of restlessness again, with every appearance of intending to make another attempt.

From the moment she had watched her brother lead his troops north, Mu Fulan had known that sooner or later such a situation would come — regardless of whether her brother was present or not.

She had already prepared herself.

By day, she faced the ministers of the Kingdom of Changsha — terrified and unable to find their footing — maintaining her composure as she dealt with the unrelenting stream of matters that arose. But when darkness fell, she found herself unable to avoid it: whole nights spent sleepless, unable to close her eyes.

Before her brother died, he had told her not to blame herself. But how could she possibly do that?

After the national mourning period, her sister-in-law fell ill. Yet Mu Fulan knew that she herself could not afford to fall as well.

Xi’er. Her sister-in-law. A’Ru. Her family needed her protection. And the tens of thousands of people of the Kingdom of Changsha — who had just lost their King and were filled with anxiety and alarm — needed her to step forward, so that they could know that the Mu royal clan, which had sheltered them for over two hundred years, had not abandoned them.

That day was the final day of the Kingdom of Changsha’s national mourning. Zhao Xitai came from the eastern capital as Prince Qi’s representative to offer his condolences.

He entered the royal palace, offered incense and paid his respects solemnly before the spirit tablet, then was led to Xuanchong Hall.

Mu Fulan was dressed entirely in white mourning clothes, her hair black as ink. She stood by the window. She had grown so thin that she was like a flake of light March snow resting on the pistil of a pear blossom — come close and breathe on it, and she would melt into water.

Zhao Xitai stared at her for a long moment, then slowly walked over to her and said quietly, “What happened to your brother — I am deeply troubled by it. I know you will not believe me when I say this, but there are certain matters over which I truly had no say at the time. After breaking through the capital, I also wished to send troops to help your brother attack Longpass, but my father…”

“Congratulations.” She gave a faint smile and cut his words short.

“Now that you have become Crown Prince, you have still remembered to come and pay your respects at my brother’s departure.”

“Princess!”

Zhao Xitai crossed to her in a few strides and seized one of her cold hands tightly.

“You may rebuke me however you wish — I deserve it. This trip of mine, though undertaken at my father’s bidding, was even more so my own heartfelt wish. The last time I came to propose marriage, you refused me without so much as granting me an audience. Whatever you may have been thinking, or whatever others may say — my sincerest desire has always been to make you my wife.”

“On my side at present — the eastern capital is in hand, and with that stronghold and its advantages of terrain, provisions and grain are sufficient, and troops grow by the day. I am well enough placed to hold my own against Xie Changgeng. If the Kingdom of Changsha were willing to pledge its allegiance to my father, from this day forward we would be of one cause — you and I allies. Should you come under attack from Xie Changgeng, my father would not stand by and do nothing…”

Mu Fulan withdrew her hand and smiled coldly.

“Crown Prince, do you believe your father is truly worthy of trust?”

Zhao Xitai spoke each word with deliberate care. “Princess, we have been friends since childhood. In my heart, there is only you, and you alone. I am willing to swear on my life: in the days to come, once I have control of the eastern capital, I will protect you to the very end!”

Mu Fulan looked at him, and smiled. “But who knows when you will gain control of the eastern capital?”

Zhao Xitai clenched his teeth and drew closer, his voice dropping low. “This is ordinarily a family matter, not something to be spoken of to outsiders. As you know, I have had a weak constitution since childhood. Unexpectedly, my father — he too made preparations for my death long ago. For years now, he has kept a large number of Taoist practitioners around him, steeped himself in bedroom arts, and been determined to sire more sons. My mother only learned of this at the beginning of this year. He has indeed produced another son — the child is already quite old. For fear that his fate might be cut short by the influence of the household, he has been raised outside, and not yet brought back. Were it not for consideration of my mother’s family connections, even this position of Crown Prince would likely never have come to me.”

He gave a cold smile. “He is wholly consumed with seeking other heirs, putting all his effort into grooming them. What brotherly feeling has he ever had for me? Since that is the case, I have no intention of sitting here waiting for my fate.”

“Princess — Xie Changgeng is faithless and heartless toward you. I am nothing like him. I will take care of my health, and once I have power in my hands, I will put you first in all things. Believe me!”

Mu Fulan looked at the agitated Zhao Xitai and asked quietly, “I have heard that Xie Changgeng’s mother is now in your hands?”

Zhao Xitai nodded. “That is correct. Empress Dowager Liu intended to act as well, but was too clumsy about it. With a simple stratagem, I obtained her. With his mother in hand, when it comes to the critical moment, he will be constrained and hampered — she is most useful to us.”

Mu Fulan was silent for a moment.

“Unfortunately, what you say now still does not carry weight,” she said.

“If you came here and could not leave — to exchange you for Xie Changgeng’s mother — do you think your father would agree to that?”

Zhao Xitai started, hesitated, then asked, “What do you mean?”

Mu Fulan looked steadily at him.

“The world has fallen into chaos. Those who wish to be Emperor must rely on their own abilities; even schemes and treachery are not without justification in such times. But there is one thing — do you know what I find most contemptible?”

She paused.

“The conduct I loathe most in my life is the seizing of an enemy’s parents, wife, or children as hostages.”

“Since you have come, stay here and recover your health for a few days. When I have the time, I can help adjust your constitution as well. Once your father has come to his senses and is willing to send Xie Changgeng’s mother here, you may go back then — there is no rush!”

She swept her sleeve and knocked a jade vase from the table nearby.

In the crash of the shattering jade, the door was swiftly pushed open, and dozens of guards poured in.

Yuan Handing’s sword leveled at Zhao Xitai’s throat, and in a cool voice he said, “Crown Prince, I imagine you also have people of your own in the eastern capital. If your father is unwilling to trade someone to bring you back, I advise you — have your own people find a way to send the old Madam here!”